Horizontal Curve Design of Railway Tracks Incorporating Safety Criteria

In this study, a new approach for the evaluation of horizontal curve design in railway tracks integrating safety criteria is proposed. A vehicletrack interaction model is developed in ADAMS/Rail engineering software. Simulation of dynamic vehicle response from derailment point of view is followed. Using this model, sensitivity analyses are made on the main geometry parameters of horizontal curves, including radius, super-elevation and transition length, considering different speed. Consequently, the influences of each parameter are investigated on governing derailment criteria i.e. Overturning, Nadal and Prud’homme indexes. The results form the basis for further practical charts by which, both the geometry design and safety evaluation of railway horizontal curves can be determined. A practical use of the new approach is finally presented to indicate its performance and applicability.